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we loved it

We have visited Gulliver's World in Warrington twice now and both times we have had a really nice day out. It hasn't been the best theme park in the world but it certainly kept all four of us entertained and we took home some great memories! We have visited twice; once last summer and once two weeks ago.

Where is it?

When Mrs B suggested we spent the day at Gulliver's World I wasn't going to argue as we'd had lots of fun last time. We live near Cheshire so for us there are two Gulliver's near us- one in Matlock and the other in Warrington. We opted for the Warrington one because we had been there before and also it was more straight forward to get to. This theme park is situated in Warrington which is about a 15 minute drive from Manchester. When we came off the motorway we had a map with us but once we'd got onto the main road it was really straight forward and also signed. It's useful because it's near a big Asda so we popped in there first to buy some drinks as we knew they would be cheaper. There were also quite a few signs showing the way too so I think really it's very easy to get there.

Parking and tickets

Now you can buy tickets online before you go which work out very slightly cheaper, only by about a pound but Mrs B said she'd rather we just buy on the door considering our printer likes to misbehave and she didn't want us to spend 30 minutes stressing out about the printer not working and for the sake of a pound or two it wasn't worth the effort. So when we arrived we planned to buy tickets. The driveway into the park is quite nice with a few little images of the 'gully mouse' on the lamp posts, this instantly got Little B all excited! There were men directing us where to park which was a really good idea as it meant people parked in a logical manner and weren't all driving round trying to find places whilst children were getting out of cars and things so it made it a safer way to park. The car park itself is pretty much a field. It's a bit poor really, you would think they could at least make it a better surface. When we went last time it had rained the night before and it was a mud bath. This time it was dry so easier to park but it wasn't ideal really. They also make you park very, very close together in terms of the rows which means that reversing out is very tight and can be a matter of about 10 attempts, again not ideal. It is free to park-thank goodness! To pay for tickets you queue up at a kiosk. The queue last year took about 30 minutes which was frustrating but this year it was only about 5 minutes which was great! You can buy a number of tickets, one includes various food items and entry into the splash zone too but that was about £35 each! We bought the cheapest which just enabled us to have entry into the park. It was £16 for adults and £15 for Little B. Baby B went free as he is under 90cm. Price-wise it is expensive and I dislike how children are just £1 cheaper. Because of the price it's somewhere we cannot go very often and is also somewhere you have to spend the whole day to make sure you get your money's worth. Before entering the park you have to show all your tickets to another member of staff and then you're in!

Rides! Rides! Rides!

Now this theme park is aimed at young children. If you came here as a bunch of young adults looking for a thrill-seeking day out you will be bitterly disappointed! We did see a few groups of teenagers and felt a bit sorry for them really. There are about 5 rides which are good for older people; two rollercoasters, a couple of faster rides and things. We couldn't try these out with having the little ones with us but they looked quite fun...one was closed though so I don't know if it was broken or what but that would mean if you'd come as an adult you'd got even less rides to go on! The majority of the rides are aimed at children. Little B is 4 and she went on about 70% of the rides, some she refused to go on as she didn't like the look of them but they would have been fine for her age and a handful she couldn't go on because she wasn't tall enough. Baby B who is 18 months old could go on about 8 rides which is great, last year he was a tiny baby and he couldn't go on anything so it's great that even an 18 month old can enjoy some things. You are given a map when you first go in and the rides have little icons next to them so you can see without walking to them which rides children can go on, it shows how tall they have to be and if they have to be accompanied by an adult or not. This is a really good thing to have on the map.

When we went a few weeks ago there were about 5 rides not in action. This was a bit of a disappointment but there was still plenty to go on. Mrs B's favourite was the log flume as although it's aimed at young children you do still get splashed and it also takes your photo on the way down. Little B, who had loved it last year, wasn't so convinced this time round! Little B's favourite ride was the tree top swings which spin round really high in the air, we were surprised as we thought she would be scared but she loved it so much she went on twice. My favourite ride were dinosaur eggs which were a little big like the Walzters at a fair but enclosed eggs! Baby B really enjoyed a plane ride which was a small plane we sat in and it flew round in circles. There were lots of rides they could go on and what was great about it was that there were not hugely long queues. It was a sunny day and had forecast to be so it was quite a busy day, however, the longest queue we had was 15 minutes for the mini rollercoaster. The majority of rides we either walked straight on or had to wait one or two turns for us. By the end of the day, however, the long flume had a queue of 30 minutes.

The rides are pretty tame and some of them look a bit past their best now. You can tell it was built years ago and in some areas it's about time they really did it up again. This is a bit sorry to see if you look at it with a critical eye but it didn't even register on Little B's radar and it's nice to know she can just be a kid and enjoy herself without thinking hmm that should be repainted now!

Practical issues

So you're at a theme park for the day, what about the practicalities of being there? Firstly there are several toilet blocks around, these are not well sign-posted at all so consult your map! The toilets were clean enough but nothing special. In terms of walking around it is 90% flat so no struggling up hill with a pushchair or tired children. There are tree-top walks which take you on footbridges high up to get to one place to another and this is fun but if it's wet the bridges will be slippery. I never once thought oh hang on the pushchair won't go this way, let's turn round... like you often do when you are in a shopping centre or you're trying to get somewhere so it's really well designed with that in mind. In terms of walking also, the rides are not very far apart, some are right next to each other and I think we did one side of the park to another within about 15 minutes (without stopping) so it's not a huge park like when you go to Alton Towers and you spend all day going miles and miles!

Food-wise we brought a picnic with us but also bought some chips whilst there. The food isn't great which I think is a disappointment. When you go for a day out you want to have a nice meal too but this food is all about being fast and there are a few places to eat which mainly have only a few seats and serve fried food. I would rather have a big canteen that served various options including lighter things like sandwiches, I don't know about you but I don't like the idea of my kids eating a load of greasy food then going off on rides! So we took a picnic and shared a portion of chips, this also saved us money too. There are a few kiosks around which sell drinks, ice cream and pancakes although a couple of these were closed too which is a bit disappointing especially on a weekend day in the sun, you'd expect everywhere to be open!

There was a small indoor play area for children which was nice. This meant that Baby B could stretch his legs and run around. There were quite a few other little babies in here, so a chance for them to do something.

Opinion

I know this is not the best theme park and I know it's rather dated now but that did not stop us all from having a really good day out. We arrived about 11:00 (It opened at 10:30) and we left about 4:00 (it was open until 5:00). So for 5 hours all four of us were entertained which is pretty good going. So often you will have a day out that is aimed at the little ones and you can easily get bored quickly but stick it out for the children's sakes. This wasn't the case here, we all enjoyed it and even on the really tedious rides we still enjoyed it because the looks on our children's faces made it so much fun.

Little B really enjoyed it this time. She did last time too but this time she went on much more through being brave. All the way home she talked about everything she did excitedly. She was really loving it all. There were loads of things for her to go on and she loved it when her baby brother was allowed to go on things with her too. Just watching them enjoying themselves made it a lovely day.

I don't think this is a place you can visit often, mainly because of the price but also because I think it would grow a bit boring. If you just visit once or twice a year then it seems exciting but you would soon get bored of the same rides. Within a year there was no difference between the two so there is little improvement year on year and nothing new added.

I would improve this place by having a few additions and changes. I would make a lovely canteen area with lots of homemade options. This would mean that adults who go with slightly older children have somewhere nice to sit whilst their older children have a bit of independence on their own, it would also mean you can buy nicer food which isn't just greasy before going on the rides and it would make your day that bit more enjoyable too. I would also improve it by perhaps by having some music playing, like when you arrive at Alton Towers part of the excitement is that jolly music you hear! I would also have the car park tarmacked so that at least you are parking on ground which is good to use no matter what the weather.

This theme park is open at weekends during the high season and also a few days in the week. You can check the website for when they are open as I know they are closed Mondays and I think it's Tuesdays too.

I think this is a great day out for young families and as adults we have to not think about how it looks a bit dated now but get into the kid's excitement and just enjoy ourselves and that way you can have a really good day out.

You can also go 'fully inclusive', which comprises a day ticket, a voucher for a meal and a drink, a voucher for an ice cream, and with the children's fully inclusive ticket, a £1 retail voucher. The price of a fully inclusive ticket is £22.50.

Finally you can purchase a combo ticket. A combo ticket allows entry into the park and into the splash world swimming attraction next door. Price here is £17.95 for adults, £18.95 for children and £3.95 for babies.

Overall I do think it's a bit pricy, and a bit cheeky charging the same or even more for children, but you can make savings when you buy the ticket online, and sometimes Gulliver's World run the promotional prices.

**Car Parking**

Car parking is a field, basically, with no set spaces. Unfortunately this meant that though parking in the morning was fine, when we came back in the afternoon a car had parked so close to ours that we couldn't get the door open to get our daughter in her car seat and my husband had to pull the car out to do so - I don't know what I would have done had I been on my own!

On the plus side, parking is free.

**Entry**

The entrance comprises a semi circle with the splash zone entrance first, then the main park entrance, and further around, a large log hotel.

As we had purchased our tickets online, we had a print out with a bar code. We queued for no more than a minute before our bar code was scanned and we were in Gulliver's World.

**The Park**

The park is set around a large and very pretty duck pond, it's very scenic, and in the glorious sunshine, which we had, it looks very cheerful.

The park is made up of different themed areas, each with little rides suited to younger children. The areas are as follows:

Gulliver's Railroad Main Station (An old fashioned mini railway which my daughter loved. It goes around the entire park, right back to the start, so I suggest you try this first, as you can get a look around the park and start from the beginning.

**The Lost World** (An obvious knock off of the official Jurassic Park / Lost World movies!) There are big dinosaurs through a tree top walk, which made for some great photos and my dino-mad toddler thought was brilliant.

I would say about 70% of the rides are suitable for a toddler over 90cm as long as an adult rides with them which is a good percentage compared to places like Nickelodeon Land or Alton Towers which seem to be more geared to the thrill seekers.

My daughter preferred calmer, quieter and slower rides because she has only just turned two and she is a sensitive soul but she loved to watch the bigger rides even if she didn't quite have the bottle to try them out!

You can take a pushchair, but we prefrred to let her walk with her reins because otherwise you'd be leaving the buggy at every ride, though all are manned, so it's perfectly safe to do so.

Another excellent feature of Gulliver's World is that the small ride on toys (the ones you see in supermarkets and at the seaside, which you put 50p in) have all been set to free play so you don't have to keep forking out once you're in there.

**Food**

Oh dear, food is such a big let-down at Gulliver's World, such a big let down. We didn't take a packed lunch as we wanted to go to the all you can eat pizza and pasta place. Unfortunately after walking around the park, not easy with a toddler, looking for it, we overheard a staff member tell another guest that it was closed. A bit of a cheek, I am wondering whether it was closed to 'encourage' people to go to the other outlets, given that the tickets were discounted that weekend. Very disappointing.

There are no concessions in Gulliver's World, so no McDonalds, no Starbucks, no KFC. Not that I want to eat that myself every day but it's a theme park, we sort of expected a bit of choice!

The only places open were two small cafe restaurants and a coffee shop, and two small sweet pancake stalls. We went to the first restaurant (in the Circus area) to find it was only serving chips, burgers, fried fish and fried veggie burgers. The food looked absolutely awful and wasn't cheap, so we swerved that for the second small restaurant in the 'camelot' style area (just under the huge princess' castle, which actually doesn't lead to anywhere!)

To our dismay not only were they selling the exact same fried rubbish and it was filthy, it stank of old oil and we saw the 'chef' pick up a burger with his bare fingers, sniff it and throw it back on the grill. We walked out!!

This left us with the coffee shop where we were then informed that no-where, not one shop or outlet, accepts card payments of any sort. That's right, Gulliver's World is cash only, and there is only one (one!!) cash point right back at the start of the park (which charges £1.50 per withdrawal). It was too far for our tired toddler to walk so we scraped up what we had on us (£6) and paid £5.20 for two of the most vile tuna sandwiches ever (we were told they were tuna and mayo but it turns out it was dry tuna between 2 pieces of bread scraped with mayo...driest sandwich ever! Yuck. Luckily my daughter had a drink and some raisins in her back pack so she was satisfied with a sandwich and raisins, me and hubby split a sandwich, I have to admit we stopped for food outside of Gulliver's World on the way home, not what you want to have to do.

My advice therefore is 1. Take a packed lunch and 2. If you want an ice cream or drink, make sure to take some cash.

**Downsides**

My little girl did enjoy her day at Gulliver's World, I can't deny it but there are some issues which made it less great for myself and hubby. I think these could be dealt with quite easily so I do hope they read reviews and heed feedback. I'll list them because it's easier:

- The train station has a broken down old train abandoned on the track right at the start of the park entrance. You sit staring at it waiting for the train to start and it's full of rubbish.

- There are abandoned broken rides and decorations (a broken dinosaur, chipped wood carvings etc) around the park which you can see when you're on the train ride and tree top walk.

- The food, as above, is disgusting.

- The entrance is shabby and dated, it sets the wrong tone for the park.

- The lack of cashpoints and the only one being at the entrance, and a charged one at that. Gulliver's World, you'd make more if your outlets allowed card transactions!

- Some of the children's climbing frames are on sand and there are cigarette butts in the sand. As it's a children's theme park really, could they not ban smoking or allow it only in a designated area?

- Car parking can be an issue if an inconsiderate driver parks too close to be able to open your doors - either marking spaces or having an attendant would be good.

**Overall**

Overall my little girl enjoyed Gulliver's World and we did only pay £9 per person. I think for any more than that I'd have been disappointed however and this leads me to the conclusion that sadly I do think it is over priced and I don't think that they are really re-investing the money enough into park care.

The staff all seem friendly and enthusiastic, and I can't fault how much my daughter loved the little rides she went on. I do think the issues we saw are easily remedied with a little time and money and it would probably encourage me to re visit but as it stands it's not somewhere I would visit yearly.

My daughter has just as much fun at the seaside which even in parking and arcade costs, still works out cheaper than Gulliver's World. So for now we've had our one visit and we would be unlikely to visit again until she is older and they do another promotional price (and we will be sure to take a substantial packed lunch!)

A mixed bag of a review really and overall I'll give Gulliver's World 3 out of 5 and really hope that the management take some time to sort out the issues because it is a great local resource and looks so pretty on a sunny day. I don't want it to close down like American Adventure but sadly it does feel like some areas are dated and becoming delapidated.

If you can get a promotional price for tickets at Gulliver's World and you aren't travelling too far, give it a try because your kids will probably love it nevertheless. Just go prepared!!

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A good place to visit usually where the focus is on the children

For the past couple of years my friend and I have gone to Gulliver's World in Warrington with our children on the run up to Christmas for a special package in which we can have a meal, see a little show, visit Santa and get a present and also have access to the rides and things on the day. This year we visited on the 23rd December and my review will focus primarily on this day out but I want to point out that I have visited Gulliver's on quite a few occasions over the years with my son and not all of these have been at Christmas time.

==Getting there and prices==

The address of Gulliver's in Warrington is:

Gullivers WorldWarringtonWA5 9YZ

We live around a forty minute drive from Warrington and find that popping the post code in to the Sat Nav works really well but the theme park is sign posted quite well from the motorway and then as you come off it as well so you can't really get too lost looking for it.

The park is open at various points in the year and I would fully advise you have a look on the website for opening times and prices as sometimes they will have special offers such as the one for the February half term where adults and children can enter for £7.95 but these prices will be more in the summer for example. There are annual passes available for purchase which start at £55 per person and go up to £75 per person too.

We booked on the 23rd December for a special package which would allow us a sit down Christmas dinner in the restaurant as well as the entrance, meeting Santa etc and this cost us £45 per adult and child for the day so it isn't cheap by any means but I would say that it is usually worth it. I say usually because on our last visit we had a less than positive trip out but I would say this was more a one off due to bad management than anything else as our trip the year before was magical.

==Inside Gulliver's==

What I really like about Gulliver's is the fact that it really is aimed at the children for the most part. So many theme parks will have a small section suited for the children and then a range of more grown up and thrill seekers rides but Gulliver's is primarily about the children which is lovely.

There are lots of smaller sections inside the theme park with rides and these all have little names such as the Lost World where there are dinosaur themed rides or Circus World where rides are themed towards toys, clowns and animals. The park isn't huge and so you won't find yourself walking for miles just to get to the next section and the rides are pretty close together anyway which is great as you can jump off one and then head to the queue for another.There are height restrictions on the rides obviously but my friend and I find that our children can go on many rides together now meaning that we can just sit and watch if we want. I think this gives them a real feeling of being grown up and independent too which they love and it means that we can just have a few minutes to ourselves whilst they are on some of the rides. There are some bigger rides where they would need accompanying and in some cases we even want to ride the rides with them and this isn't an issue at all at Gulliver's. Our children are seven and five years old now and I think last year there were a few less rides they could go on independently.

The rides are a mix of carousel type ones, to things like the log flume and smaller roller coasters. The rides all seem to be well maintained and clean and the staff seem more than competent with their jobs of operating the rides.

In the winter time there are less rides operating than in the summer peak times and so this is also the case when we visit at Christmas. Normally this isn't a massive issue though I do feel that the price we pay is quite high and it would be nice to have a few more rides to go at. This year when we visited there had been quite a lot of flooding and whilst this is clearly a natural event that couldn't be helped it did mean that even more areas of the park were cut off to us and we found there weren't all that many things to grab the children's attention this Christmas sadly.

As well as the rides there are some lovely little park areas in Gulliver's and there are always tables and chairs located near to these allowing parents to perhaps grab a few minutes sit down time whilst the children climb on the apparatus and have fun. These areas are lovely in the summer in particular but they do get very busy as people eat their lunches around here and so you won't always be able to sit down. The play areas are usually themed and a bit different too so there is one with a castle to climb in and slides to go down whilst there is another that is all wooden equipment which is nice to see.

There are also little character shows that go on at various points through the day. At Christmas there is a beautiful snow show where the characters sing and dance and then the children are asked to close their eyes and make a wish and then when they open them there is artificial snow being sprayed around which looks lovely and magical. At Christmas there are also things such as Elf School and biscuit decorating going on at points in the day and this is documented near the entrance so I would recommend checking times and venues for this and making the most of them should you visit at Christmas time. Should you be considering booking at Christmas time I would say go for it because it is a lovely experience walking through the Grotto and seeing Santa and things and it really helps make you feel the Christmas spirit.

The park is actually really clean and people seem to be responsible and use the bins around them which is a nice thing to see. In the summer time there can be quite a few wasps around which isn't nice but I think this is the case with all theme parks to a certain extent anyway! I've certainly seen much worse cases of wasps around especially Legoland!

Staff for the most part in this theme park is where it is lacking and it is a real shame. Whilst on a day out I hope to just do my own thing and not have to interact with too many members of staff properly they are always going to be around near the rides etc! At Christmas time we found that many of the staff didn't even have a smile on their faces for the children which was really disappointing. I work with customers face to face every day and understand you can be having a bad day but I always smile and say hello. One particularly bad experience was after we had attempting to have our meal in the restaurant which was part of our package we had booked and had been left waiting a long time for gravy as our meals went cold and were then ignored by the waitresses completely so we had to leave before desserts as our train to see Santa was booked for 2pm and we were cutting it fine. When we joined the long queue for the train we were told by a grumpy male member of staff that the queue was for the 1.45 train and we couldn't stay in it nor could he guarantee when we would be allowed to join it or when we would be taken to the grotto to see Santa! I was furious at this point and it takes a lot for me to go and complain somewhere but I went straight to customer services and was actually dealt with by a lovely manager who walked us to the grotto entrance and said she would sort us free tickets to come back in the summer as our experience wasn't acceptable. She told us that the reason that things were so busy was the fact they had experienced a lot of people turning up and paying "on the door" so to speak as the weather was the first nice and dry day we had experienced for around a week and we felt this was disappointing really as they should consider people who have pre booked and paid for a certain experience in my opinion.

There are plenty of toilets dotted around in the park and whilst these aren't huge there are enough of them around to mean you won't often have too long a wait to go. They are usually clean enough but of course this depends on the customers visiting the park on the day you go as some are not as clean as others sadly.

==Eating==

There are various places to eat around Gulliver's world and some are more like little shops where you can grab waffles and such like but there are also casual style restaurants where you can get what I would say is a more proper, pub style meal. The quality of the food on the occasions I have eaten there has been fine and although we had a bad experience with our meal this year on previous occasions this has not been an issue at all. Food isn't cheap on the park as you would expect and so I would consider taking a packed lunch on some occasions I visit too.

==Shop==

As with any theme park there are small gift shops dotted around the park and there is also a larger shop situated in perfect position as you are going to leave the park. Inside they sell the usual things such as soft toys, stationary and sweets as well as plastic items and price wise they aren't too bad really. Teddies will set you back around ten to twelve pounds but stationary items are much more like pocket money toys and reasonable but good quality too.

==Overall==

What happened at Christmas last year won't put me off Gulliver's world because I know it is a nice place to visit if you have a young family. It is well priced in comparison to some of the other theme parks in our area and what is even better is my friend has won four gold passes to the park for 2013 which means we get to visit as much as we want over the year!

I think Gulliver's world is a lovely place to visit for a full day out and in Summer I would say there is plenty for the children to do and it is a nice park to walk around in the sunshine. Should you decide to visit in winter on one of the special Christmas packages again I think it is a worthwhile experience as our children have loved it both years we have taken them and I think would continue to enjoy it in the future.

Thank you for reading my review!

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Worth a visit

Living only 2 miles or so away from Gulliver's world in Warrington it has become a firm favourite and a place that has received more than an average amount of visits from us. As a child I used to enjoy going to Gulliver's world, now even though it has changed a considerable amount it is still a wonderful place that I like to take my daughter. As with most places however, Gulliver's world does have its negatives so this review will cover all those good and bad things that I find important about Gulliver's world.

Gulliver's world is a theme park designed specifically for children between the ages of 2 and 13, you won't find jaw dropping rides here, instead you will find a place that is suitable for a young age range enabling children to have an amazing time without having to worry about height restrictions or rides that are too exhilarating. Gulliver's world was first opened in Warrington in 1989, over the last couple of years it has had an extensive makeover introducing better rides, a wider variety and it has also saw the opening of splash zone, a water park which is situated off the main park. This review however will concentrate on the park alone as splash zone is technically a separate attraction. So with this refurbishment seeing a vast of exciting new rides it's also seen a dramatic rise in ticket prices;

Adult £14.75Child £14.75Family of 4 £56.00O.A.P £13.75Under 90cm go free (averaging at under the age of two)

Worlds in the park -------------------------------------------------------Gulliver's world is split into several worlds; here you will find different themes and then obviously rides to go with those themes. I will give a small mention to each of the worlds but I will not give all of the ride information as for one, there are far too many and two, that will spoil the fun for anybody wishing to go and explore for themselves.

Entrance plaza ------------------------The Entrance Plaza is the first thing that you come to when you enter Gulliver's world. This is where the main stage is where they hold the shows. There is generally something going on here all of the time whether it is an entertainer, a singer or the gully gang. The gully gang are characters that greet the children when you enter the park, my daughter absolutely loves them and we always get our pictures taken with the different ones. Generally the entertainment is ok, is fun and it lifts your spirits as you enter the park setting you up for a promising day of fun.

Alice's wonderland--------------------------Alice's wonderland is of course based around the story Alice in wonderland. The rides in this area however are not all that Alice related. The tea cups in this area are a firm favourite of mine but they are not that suitable for younger children. The websites description of the tea cups ride states "you can spin around on the Mad Hatters Tea Cup ride like Alice falling down the rabbit hole." I fail to see any resemblance and none of the other rides are related to Alice in wonderland either but that doesn't really spoil the fun of them.

Western world------------------------Western world is one of the larger areas of the park containing 17 rides and attractions. The whole area has a western theme from the wood fences to the replica houses by the river containing Indians. This area has several rides that are mostly new, also they have an indoor area with shows on throughout the day and other attractions such as panning for gold and an adventure play fort. This is one of the best areas I think, mainly because of the lengths they have gone to too create a western feel, and the level of activity's that they have for a range of different ages.

Circus world-----------------------Circus world is the main area for toddlers, if you were unfortunate to have to pay for a 2 year old to enter the park these are most likely the only rides that they can go on. The area features several small rides such as the lady bird ride, these generally all go round in a small circle at a slow pace. My daughter has never been much of a fan; she prefers the more adventurous rides such as the log flume etc.! This area also contains an indoor play area, face painting, a puppet show and a lot more activity's for the little ones.

Smugglers wharf --------------------------Smugglers wharf has the most daring rides in the whole park containing a rather large wooden roller-coaster and the pirate's ship. This area is more for older children and you are also most likely to see some adults making use of their £15 entrance ticket in this area. The rides are all fun and exhilarating in this area making this the one place that you have to queue for a lengthy time. Generally in the other areas of the park 5 minutes is the maximum waiting time but here you can be queuing for up to an hour on a busy day to get a ride on the antelope (the wooden roller-coaster) which in all fairness (if you are not a hyped up 10 year old with the ability to stand against anything) leaves you with a stiff neck and a bad back! But who said you don't have to pay the price for fun?

Lilliput land ------------------Lilliput land is a rather strange one; it doesn't really have a theme to it per say as there are several different attractions that are not in the slightest bit similar such as a ghost house, toboggan, bumper cars and a carousel. All of the rides within this area are fun and being in the middle of the park (the half way stop) there are usually a lot of people here. The area is not the largest but there is something here for every age.

Water world--------------------Water world is named as such because of the one water ride within it. This water ride however is somewhat great therefore perhaps allowing it to have a world named entirely because of it. The log flume is your basic ride but because the whole family can go on it together it makes it a lot more fun and entertaining. I took my daughter on it not long ago and she absolutely loved it! This was by far her favourite ride and she continued to go on it for the rest of the day. Water world also has sand pits and such things, diggers and ride on tractor rides, which are mainly unsupervised.

Adventure world------------------------Adventure world, well this is your area that has some of the more popular rides such as the tree top swings, your tomb raider shooting ride and the wild mine ride which is one of the scariest rides on the park. It's one of those types that swings you around the corners at incredible speed causing a heart attack and near death experience for us and a chance for the kids to give themselves an exhilarated scare and then insist to go back on it again making you return to that awful experience because of the height restrictions and the need for an appropriate adult! Who said it's not all about the kids?? Again this is a more popular area so be expecting long ques.

The lost world---------------------The lost world is one of the newest additions to Gulliver's world and therefore features the newest type of rides. Lost world is actually precisely that, lost, the first visit makes it rather hard to find especially as it is the only one of the worlds that is covered within trees and bushes etc. making it look somewhat like a jungle. The lost world is really a dinosaur world, there are large model dinosaurs, dinosaur rides, a simulator and there is also a sky tower which is lovely as you can see out over the park. This area also has rides for every age, there are your more exhilarating ones such as the Flight of the Pteranodon which requires you to lie on your stomach whilst it fly's you around at high speed and then you also have the Junior Dino Cavalcade which even the under 90cm can ride.

Gully town -----------------Gully town is the newest addition and this is a fully indoor area designed mainly for the little ones to enjoy. Inside there is a small pirate ship and then there are also several pretend shops, a post office and a garage for the little children to run around in. There is also an opportunity to sit down in here giving you a well needed rest.

Food------------Within every world there is at least one food outlet some having two or even three. The foods that they have vary to go with the themes of every world but your average burgers, chips, ice creams and slush puppies can be expected. We don't actually eat here that often and take our own picnic as it is a lot cheaper to do so and is also a lot nicer. I really can't give the food high recommendations, the other half has stated that the burger he received on our last visit was the worst burger he has ever tasted and as a fast food junkie that is not something I am used to him saying. My bad experience came with a Pepsi that I bought. It clearly stated Pepsi on the drinks machine however upon making my drink, buying it and tasting it, it became clear that it was a cheaper cola within the machine. I have tried Asda's cola and that is manageable but this, this was vile. I took it back to complain and upon trying it the sales assistant proceeded to tell me it wasn't Pepsi and apologised! I really wouldn't recommend the food or drink and with it being within the park the prices are extortionate. Within the park there are several picnic benches outdoors but there is also a large indoor picnic area with several picnic tables. This is always the place we go to eat our picnics as it is rarely full or overcrowded. This is situated within the western world.

Overall opinion -----------------------------------------Overall I really like Gulliver's world, I think it's the perfect family day out, the prices are rather steep but with over 90 attractions it is actually worth it. Some parts of the park do seem a little run down but considering that a lot of the rides are over 22 years old it's not all that bad and the new areas bring some well needed modernisation to the park. There is something for everyone young or old and I would definitely recommend making a visit. In addition to all of the rides mentioned above each world also has its own play park and extra paying attractions and souvenirs.

My favourite area is definitely the western world and I would recommend visiting all of the areas by starting at Alice's wonderland, from here you can make a circuit around the entire park using the provided map to ensure you don't get lost or miss any of the rides. All in all there is are plenty of things to do and places to explore and I tend to find that there is not enough time in the day to do everything. I do really like Gulliver's world and it continues to grow and expand every year but for now I think I will award it 4 stars, if they put as much effort into the food as they did to the rest of the park I would be giving it a higher rating.

Other information -------------------------------------------

Gulliver's world is fully accessible for wheelchair access and prams although prams can be left at the entrance if necessary.

Toilets are situated throughout the park averaging at one per world.

Opening times can vary but all information can be found on the Gulliver's world website.

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Overall a good day out which I'd recommend if you have kids aged 3-10

Gulliver's World is a theme park, aimed at children aged 2-13, located in Warrington (Old Hall / Westbrook area). There are over 90 attractions, although many of these are minor ones.

Despite only living a few minutes from the theme park, I'd never visited before. Part due to the fact that a friend had told me that she'd heard it was dirty.

After filling in a form to win a free birthday party at Gulliver's at the recent National Play Day in Warrington, I was handed a free child's ticket and map. After seeing how many attractions there were on the map I decided to give it a go, throw caution to the wind and take a 2- and 4-year old on my own.

We went on a Tuesday, during the school summer holidays on a day when no rain was forecast, so expected it to be quite busy. It was just before 10am when we drove onto the car park, which is free to use, part of it is grass, some concreted.

There were already around 10 families queued up at the ticket window, which opened just after 10am. They were quite efficient and the line moved quickly. Children under 90cm are admitted free, and there was a measuring stick just in front of the ticket windows, along with signs saying those without paid tickets would be measured on entering the park. My 2-year old is just under 90cm so I didn't pay for her ticket, but was given a ticket saying it was for a baby under 90cm. With the free child's ticket I only had to pay £14.75 for myself.

We then got in line for the main entrance. I was sure I'd read that the park opened at 10am, but later found out it was in fact 10:30am. By the time they opened the gates at 10:15 the line behind us was very long and I was glad we'd arrived early. No one on the gate checked my daughter's height, which surprised me as she's not that far off 90cm. Once inside we were restricted to the entrance plaza until official opening time at 10:30am.

An entertainer came on the small stage there, along with two characters, Gilly Mouse & Gully Mouse and did a song and dance routine. It was quite cheesy and I don't think many of the people gathered there were watching.

Gates to the different lands were opened a few minutes ahead of time and the masses poured in, speeding off in the direction of their chosen attractions.

Since we'd never been before and didn't know what to do first, we headed to the left towards Alices Wonderland, while most others were going towards the other side of the park.

The park is divided into nine lands, each themed differently. I can only review the attractions we actually experienced, but will mention any others of note. Plus, the ride reviews are from the point of view of taking a 2- and 4-year old.

*** Alice's Wonderland ***

The theming in this land wasn't great, with just a few large playing cards dotted about, and a large cut-out of Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party RideMy daughter loves tea cup rides, having been on the ones at Disney World and Disneyland Paris numerous times, so I figured this would be a good first stop. We were on the first ride of the day and the three of us fitted nicely into one giant teacup on this undercover ride. To spin the cup you need to turn the wheel in the middle which my two managed easily. The ride was very bumpy, which something like that shouldn't be. It lasted a few minutes by which time my 2 year old had had enough and was crying.

Veteran CarsThese were old fashioned looking cars on a fixed track. The entrance was just an open doorway into a white building, and you had to look inside to see that it actually was a ride. We tried getting onto the ride but my 2-yr old decided she didn't want to be sat on her own and strapped in. My 4 year old wasn't tall enough to ride herself (need to be over 1.2m) so we had to abandon the plan. By the time I'd shown my youngest what the ride was like and she agreed to go on, the queue was too long.

Maze of CardsA small, undercover maze that was way too narrow to navigate, especially with other kids running about pushing past. We didn't make it to the centre and beat a hasty retreat - after hitting dead ends a few times!

*** Western World ***

Lots of wood here, and buildings that look like a Western town, including a fort area which houses a playground and some rides.

Billy Bob's Bi-PlanesA hub and spoke ride (think Dumbo at Disney parks) featuring planes. We didn't have to wait here and got on straight away. The planes were very dicey for getting in and out of, especially for young kids. They tilted to one side when the ride was stopped which made it even worse and it was hard to climb in and out of them safely. Once inside there were lap belts to fasten you in. The planes went up in the air, and we pressed the button in our plane expecting it to control the up and down movement, but it did nothing, and all planes just went up at the same time.

Rio Grande Train RideBasically a small train that runs round a track a couple of times. My eldest was happy to go on herself and went on three times during the day.

The first of many play areas was located here, although it was one of the few we didn't try.

*** Circus World ***

This area looked abandoned when we first entered, with some attractions covered up and not in use. What I first thought were carnival type games turned out to be mini rides. Looking at the map now I see that there are a few attractions in this area we didn't see. I'm not sure if it's because they were closed or just very badly signed.

Toy Town RideA kind of higgledy-piggledy carousel featuring different animals. Quite dark and lacking any colour of character apart from the animals.

Ladybird RideAnyone in their 30's and 40's probably remembers this ride from their younger days. This was probably one of the original models from the early 80's by the looks of it! Only four ladybirds each seating 4 people, but surprisingly never a long wait.

Clown AroundFour riders could sit in one of the clown seats which rotated slowly, or two riders could sit in the front clown seat which bounced around. My daughter did both and enjoyed it.

Aladdin's Circus RideOne we nearly missed. Hidden away between the back of the ladybird and clown rides with no clear signage. My daughter went on alone so I didn't get to see the inside proper, but it looked to be just a train style ride round a shoddy looking indoor track.

Soft PlayWe went in a soft play area after lunch, but looking at the map, there are three listed in this area, and none look to be in the location we went to, so I'm not sure which we went in! A few big kids running about in here who were clearly over the height limit which was clearly posted.

*** Smuggler's Wharf***

We didn't venture into this mini area as it looked to be rides for older kids, such as the pirate ship.

*** Lilliput Land ***

This is at the centre of the park and houses the most dining places. Buildings were themed after castles. Location of a birthday party room which can be hired, but didn't look very big at all.

Castle Play AreaA large Little Tikes-style castle-themed play area which was suitable for toddlers as well as older ones. Wavy slides and a spiral slide, plus climbing frames and tunnels to crawl through. My girls loved playing here, especially on the slides. There were a decent number of tables and chairs for parents, with a snack place next door.

Horses CarouselThe horses on the lower level moved back and forth rather than up and down once the ride was in motion. Kids under 90cm had to sit on one of the horses on the upper level which didn't move, and had to be accompanied by an adult, stood with them. Large ride capacity meant no wait times both times we rode.

*** Water World ***

Not sure why this is called Water World, as there are more non-water attractions that those with water! Home of the log flume which we didn't go on, and at the entrance was advertised as not being open due to the weather. Surprising as it was forecast dry all day. By the time we got around to this area the log flume was running and continued to be all day. We only did one attraction here, despite intending to try out the Logger's Leap Sand Play area which featured lots of sand and digging tools, we never made it back there.

Tractor RideSimilar to the Veteran Cars ride mentioned above, but the cars were supposed to look like tractors. This was the only real time we queued all day, and had a 15 minute wait. There are only four tractors on the ride, each seating up to four people, but it was slow loading and slow moving once it got going and some cars were only going with two riders on. Twice round the simple track with not much to look at along the way, but fun for kids to sit in the front and pretend to steer. A ride photo was taken and available to buy at the nearby snack kiosk. I think photos were £3.75 and keyrings or magnets were £3.75 too.

*** Adventure World ***

Slight jungle theming going on in this land. Most major rides were more for older kids so we only did a couple of things.

Jeep SafariSmall jeep cars that go around a basic track. It didn't look very big for adults so I sent the kids on alone. When studying the map whilst they were riding I discovered it was a "kids under 90cm must be accompanied" ride, yet they'd never bothered to measure my youngest.

Jungle Play AreaAnother Little Tikes style climbing frame and slide which my two loved playing on. I was shocked at one point (when we were nearby and not on the play area) to see an older boy actually climbing on the roof part which clearly wasn't the done thing.

*** Gully Town ***Apart from Gully's Outdoor Play area (similar to the others) this was all indoors in one building. My kids absolutely loved it here and we must have spent an hour inside. Inside the building were separate little role-play areas specially for little ones, each in their own room or mini building. I would happily pay separately to take my girls to something like this, it was great! There was a mini snack bar and a reasonable amount of seating for adults.

Gully's GarageLots of Little Tikes cars and ride-ons, with a child-sized garage building, complete with mini ramp to drive up onto.

Gilly's HouseSofas, working TV, and play kitchen with lots of play food, pans and things.

Leonard's SupermarketChild-size supermarket with packets of food, counter and till.

Percy's Gyma mini soft play area with slide and ball pool.

Ellie's TheatreMy girl's favourite! Lots of mini armchairs lined up in rows in front of a stage. At the back was a control deck where kids could change the songs playing (lots of modern songs on) and control the stage lighting. They spent ages in here dancing about on stage.

Gully's Builder's MerchantsA house frame and lots of foam bricks to "build" the house - great fun!

Santa's Post OfficeNot sure where Santa came into it as it just looked like a regular post office to me! Counter and post office play things, plus a post box, pretend letters and post bag.

Percy Nipper's Pirate ShipNot operating when we were there, but looked to be a mini pirate ship ride.

*** The Lost World ***

Very aptly named as it took us a while to find this land, and we weren't the only ones as we saw someone else asking the way. Lots of foliage and dinosaurs dotted about. The Observation Tower here looked like a fun way to see the park from up high but my girls refused to go on.

Dizzy Dino's Play AreaOne of two play areas here, both of which mine insisted on trying. Much the same as the others in the park.

Junior Dino CavalcadeAn undercover carousel type ride featuring dinosaur creatures. Some small that kids come climb on easily, others quite big, some of which didn't look to have a proper seat on. Slow-moving, but lasted a decent amount of time and no wait.

Fossil DigsTwo large, covered sandpits. One had a "dinosaur" skeleton buried which you could dig with your hands to uncover. The other had fossils, again to uncover by digging.

*** Food ***

Having read negative reports about food there on Tripadvisor before we went, I took a packed lunch for us all. We ate it in the café I Circus World where I bought a large fries for £1.95 (small was £1.20) to supplement what I'd taken. The fries were freshly cooked but not quite done enough. The only other food we got was ice cream, which was very reasonably priced, costing £3.70 for a Mr Whippy one and two push up lollies.

I noted that a fish and chip meal, including drink, was available for £4.95.Face painting cost £4.50, but didn't look to be of great quality.

*** Overall Thoughts and Comments ***

There were many rides we didn't go on, mostly because of height restrictions. Although we barely queued all day, it might have been a different story if we'd gone on the rides for older ones. The park appeared to be busy that day and one employee told me there were seven coach parties booked in.

Most rides look very tired, dated and in need of a good paint job. A lick of paint round the whole park would make such a difference. That said, it's not something that kids notice or that spoils their enjoyment.

My two girls thoroughly enjoyed the day, and we only left just before the park closed at 5pm.

It's especially good to have somewhere like this geared more towards the younger age group. Places like Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach (which we've both been to) have relatively few rides for little ones, and charge extortionate amounts for the "pleasure.

I left the pushchair outside all of the rides we did and it remained safe each time.

The staff we encountered were all friendly and polite enough. One young man concerned me though. We went to buy ice cream, and my youngest took the top off her lolly before we paid and the man serving came around the counter and was teasing her about it, then tickled her neck/squeezed her shoulder, which I thought was very inappropriate.

The entrance to rides was not always very clear, and sometimes shared with the exit. Many rides didn't have a defined queue area which when you've got parents waiting at the exit for their kids to come out, can end up in a bit of a muddle trying to work out who was there first and who is actually going on the ride.

They boast that over 50% of their rides and attractions are undercover, which looked to be true, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the queue area is undercover. You could find yourself getting very wet if it rains!

There was a complete lack of signposting, making it tricky to find your way around the park.

Toilet facilities were good, with at least one lots of toilets, plus baby changing, in each land.

I think we'll definitely return here, and may consider getting a season pass next year then we can visit more often. My eldest loves the small fairground rides and it was nice not having to say she couldn't go on because Mummy didn't have enough pennies left! As for what I'd heard originally about the place being dirty, I'd say it was more shabby than dirty. The only places I noticed weren't very clean were outdoor tables at snack counters.

Opening hours vary throughout the year, and are displayed on the website. Special offers are run, such as Grandparent weekends, where Grandparents get in free.

If you join up to the facebook group you'll get to see special offers, giveaways and competitions (link on their website).

Lots of special events run through the year, including Christmas & Halloween events, plus appearances by the likes of Fireman Sam and Peppa Pig.

Splash Zone is a separately priced water play place located on the same site. It features water slides, fountains and such like with no standing water, making it safe for young kids. We've not been there yet but intend to go soon.

Gulliver's theme Parks can also be found in Milton Keynes and Matlock, Bath.

The website is www.GulliversFun.co.uk

Address:Gulliver's WorldWarringtonWA5 9YZ

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Worth a visit

** What it is **Gullivers World is a theme park specifically aimed at children aged 2 - 13. It is located in Warrington, Cheshire. The owners also have similar parks at Matlock Bath (Gullivers Kingdom) and at Milton Keynes (Gullivers Land). There isn't much to keep teenagers occupied, or adults for that matter, so unless you are visiting with pre-teen kids it's probably better to give it a miss.

** Why we went **I have a six year old boy who is a real thrill seeker; the trouble is that adrenalin rushes for six year olds are few and far between. Hence our family obsession with Theme Parks - a quick and relatively safe thrill. Scotland probably has the worst 'Theme Parks' known to man though so we are forced to go on wee tours now and again to take in some decent parks. It was on one such venture this April when we visited Gullivers World in Warrington.

Whilst planning our trip we considered all of the parks in the north of England and read reviews of the ones that we hadn't been to before. To be honest the majority of reviews, here on dooyoo and elsewhere, didn't exactly give Gullivers a glowing recommendation so we hesitated over it quite a bit as we were planning on visiting a few other parks anyway. There were mixed opinions ranging from five stars to one star but the one glimmer of hope was that the newer reviews seemed to be more positive than older ones. Hopefully this would mean that things were improving. One comment in one review sealed it for us to visit, I can't remember where the review was written, but the comment said something along the lines of 'view it through the eyes of a child, not an adult, and you will enjoy it'. So we decided our only consideration would be whether or not the kids would like it, and we were sure they would, so the decision was made.

** First impressions **On arriving at the park we noted that there were plenty of car parking spaces, although I'm sure on a really busy day they could fill up quickly. The car park is right beside the main entrance too, unlike at many other theme parks, so this makes it easier to transfer the kids from car to goal. In common with most other parks the queuing system for tickets is a free for all with no marked queuing lanes. Argghhhh! I wish they would sort that out. Having bought the tickets there isn't a great deal of hassle getting into the park, someone checks the tickets and lets you through a gate, no messing about. Once through the entrance you step into a sort of plaza with a statue of Gulliver ahead, set against the backdrop of a small lake. On a sunny day it looks lovely. There are no rides right at this bit, so no jostling through queues to get in the park. However, many of the rides can be seen from here which is great for the anticipation of the fun ahead. It was evident that there are plenty seating areas around which would come in handy later on for a wee rest. Certainly so far so good, I was sure we'd have a fun day.

** The loos ** This is where Gullivers really lets itself down, and why I can only give it three stars. The toilets are nothing short of disgraceful. They are old and dirty looking and they smell. That was at the start of the day! Later in the day the floors are rather wet looking, there is no loo roll, and they smell even worse. I'd advise nipping in behind a tree somewhere to be honest, even with the risk of wasp stings and possibly being arrested it has to be a safer option! Smelly toilets can really put a dampener on an otherwise good day. Not good enough Gullivers, far from it.

** Eating **We followed the advice of the reviews that we had read and took a picnic with us. There are plenty of picnic tables and grassy areas available so finding somewhere to eat wasn't a problem. If someone leaves the park they get a hand stamp which allows them back in. That means that, rather than lugging it around, your picnic can be left in the car until needed at which point someone can go out and get it. That said though I don't think it is really necessary to take a picnic, the food places were fine. There are plenty places to eat, including stalls for quick snacks. The selection was rather good, probably better than at most theme parks and I'm sure there is something to suit everyone. We only bought some snacks, hotdogs and chips, but they were fine, if hotdogs and chips can ever be described as fine. We seen people eating loads of other things and it all looked good enough and at standard prices, again unlike other theme parks that really rip you off. If we go back I don't think we would bother taking a picnic next time.

** The rides **The park has around 80 rides and attractions altogether. There were actually far more decent rides than I had expected. The big two are the antelope coaster and the wild mine ride, both decent rides that wouldn't be out of place at any of the larger parks. The antelope is an old wooden coaster (the last woodie built in the UK) so it can be a bit of a bumpy ride and not recommended for anyone with neck or back problems. The wild mine is a standard wild mouse type ride found in most parks, although I think this one is slightly smaller than usual. There are also some fairly standard, but still decent, kids rides such as drop towers (both mid sized and small), a swinging boat ride, a small version of the mine train coaster that's suitable for all ages, teacup rides, carousels, dodgems and a log flume. There is also a train that takes you round the park, complete with a level crossing! Some of the rides could be doing with a coat of paint, but most are fine looking and most were working the day we went.

** The Theme **I must say the name of the antelope confused me as that was the name of Gulliver's boat in Swift's classic. I'm not sure where a coaster ties in with a boat! The 'themeing' overall isn't great, but then again kids won't notice or care about that anyway. The only area that is actually quite well themed is 'The lost world'. In that area there are a few rides themed around dinosaurs, some large dinosaur models and a skywalk and observation tower that let you view the beasts from a safe distance! Some of the other areas are 'Alice's Wonderland', 'Western World', 'Adventure World', 'Gully Town' and the most dilapidated area of the park 'Circus World'.

** Height restrictions **The larger rides at Gullivers have relatively low height restrictions compared to other parks. Kids over 120cms will be able to go on almost every ride unaccompanied, including the Antelope coaster. The only exception is with the Wild Mine ride, where kids between 110cms and 140cms have to be accompanied by an adult. For a child like mine, who likes to go on any big ride he can, this is ideal - he felt like a big boy being able to choose any ride in the park! Smaller kids, as you would expect, have to be accompanied on many rides and can't go on the biggest ones, and larger kids are excluded from some of the baby rides. All in all the height restrictions at Gullivers seem to be spot-on, I can't fault them. My only criticism is that they measure the height of kids with a scary looking wooden contraption that isn't at all child friendly, but that's a minor niggle.

** Prices **The cost for adults and children over 90cms is £13.50, and for OAPs £12.50. Woohoo granny saves a quid!! A family ticket for four people costs £53 - again a saving of one whole quid per party - unless one of the party is a granny of course! To be fair £13.50 is a really good price considering kids at other parks such as Drayton Manor can be charged £24 or more. The £13.50 for adults for me reflects the fact that there aren't many big (adult sized) rides, so again fair enough. Kids under 90cms go free. For those who live near there are season passes available starting at £49.99 which is great value if you will be visiting four or more times. Having a season pass means you can nip in for an hour or two, or leave if it rains or is too busy, without worrying about getting your money's worth. The prices overall are very reasonable.

** Opening times **The longest the park is open is from 10.30am until 5.30pm, but this is only on a handful of days through the season. Most days the park is open 10.30am - 5.00pm, and on weekdays it is usually 10.30am - 4.00pm. I remember years ago when theme parks were open in the evening, but it would seem those days are long gone. Six or seven hours in a theme park with kids is probably more than enough for the sanity of most parents though! The website gives details of opening times for each individual day.

** My overall verdict **Overall Gulliver's World is well worth a visit. The prices aren't restrictive, there are loads of rides, the park is nice for a walk round even if not going on any rides, and most importantly the kids will have a ball. We won't be in a great rush to go back, there are certainly more exciting parks out there and it's a bit far to travel for us, but we'd definitely go back if the opportunity arose. In short, if you have young kids and are thinking about going then go for it. We thought about it too much and nearly gave it a miss - I'm really glad we didn't.

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kids love it

We live quite close to Gullivers world in Warrington and I would say before my children hit their teens, we go twice a year, it is aimed at children from age 2 - 12 as most of the rides are quite gentle and not too fast. You need to go as soon as the park opens because there are so many rides that you will probably stay all day. Take a packed lunch as the price in the park can be a bit steep when you have a big family or on a budget, my kids used to love having a picnic it was part of the fun for them. When you stand in the queue there is a little cut out with a height line and if your child can fit under that mark they get in free, I have not been for 12 months so maybe it has changed, not sure, my little granddaughter is 3 and she is only small and so she fit under the barrier and we didnt need to pay.We went on the high pedal type bikes one year and I would not advise it as we were up there about an hour, it was quite boring and hard to pedal, I think we had a rusty bike.

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never saw half the stuff advertised and was total insult to kids intelligence!

excited to go to gullivers at christmas and won family ticket for four which was a dream come true for the kids,however the dream was shattered by the freezing cold weather even if it was free,they could not upgrade our smasher package to one where we could have gone inside and watch a show so we were left to freeze!the father christmas was terrible there was about five of them going on at the same time in shabby unmagical bare room settings which was made obvious when the telly screens with photos on in next room were side by side with different aged santas with false beards!!!!!!!!!so terrible it was an insult and i was dreading the girls noticing!Thought we'd warm up in the toilets but no chance no warm water only freezing cold which was torture!40mins for pizza and £16 in coldshed!to think this would have been £50 noway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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WHAT A RIP OFF - WILL NEVER GO AT CHRISTMAS AGAIN!!!We went to Milton Keynes on a nice snowy/Christmasy effect day - there were hardly any rides open, there was no where to eat a sit down meal or snack (apart from the Christmas dinner). The under 5's area was swamped with grown up children playing in the ball pit. We had to wait about 30 minutes for the hot water to get hot so we could have a cuppa.Overall the place was shabby, diryt, no real effort, the staff couldn't care less and it was certainly not worth the £12.50 entrance fee. My son being at the older end of the scale, after seeing Santa had very limited choice on presents to chose from. Would not recommend for Christmas.

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An absolutely wonderful day out. The snow show was lovely, the show was really good for my 3 year old and the santas express was excellent, even the adults felt it was a magical experience. The grotto was unlike anything we had ever seen. The children are then told to go and choose any gift of their choice. Seeing Gullivers at twilight was very special and we stayed until the end. A wonderful day and one that we will remember forever. I would highly recommend it.

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absolutely awful

I was so excited to be taking my children to Gullivers world Warrington on the 28th November for the first day of the Christmas Attractions. What a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. It was very run down,shabby and dismal. We had booked the Xmas SMasher for 12.50 per head there were 5 of us and 3.95 for the baby which in total came to 66.45. What a total waste of money. We didn't see the reindeers, we didn't see the snow and when I asked a young lady who worked at the park when the snow show started she didn't know.

We caught the santa express to Santa's grotto. The decorations on route were tacky and looked as though they had just been dumped anywhere. As for Santa.......well he must have only been in his 20's not very santerish at all.....highly disappointing. How on earth Gullivers world can make a comparison to Lapland as they do on their website I do not know. Even my 3 yr old wanted to come home after 2 1/2 hrs.

Never again. A huge let down. I shall be writing to the manager with my complaints. DOn't waste your money. We should have goneback to Stockly Farm which is only around the corner where we went last year for only 7.50 each.

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please do not eat at gulliver's world my 19month old son is up tonight with a bad tummy and severe diarrhea i am not impressed and i will be making a complaint to them. As he was eating i did look around and noticed how damp it looked and how run down it was, i was slighty concerened about the kitchen but i did not honestly think that the food would make him poorly like it has, i reasured myself with other familys eating in the same area, i am really upset about this, the prices were high for food so you should get a decent cooked meal. overall my son had a brilliant day and was great to see the smile on his face but very disapointed that rides didnt work anymore really needs refurbishing. My advice take packed lunch and wasp killer spray there are hundreds!

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A good day out but could be a lot better

Last weekend, when staying with friends in the North West, they suggested that we took the children (aged 3, 2 and 1) to Gulliver's World in Warrington for the day. As my two year old is obsessed with rides and constantly asking when he can go back to Legoland / Thomas Land, this sounded like a good way of keeping them entertained. There are actually three different Gulliver's Worlds - the one in Warrington which we visited, one in Milton Keynes and one in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire.

* Getting There *Gulliver's World is located in Warrington, near junctions 8 and 9 of the M62. There is plenty of free car-parking on site, and this is very near the entrance to the park. If travelling there on public transport, you can get the train to Warrington Central or Warrington Bank Quay, then walk to the bus station and get a bus to the park.

* Opening Times and Prices *The opening hours for the park are 10.30am to 5.00pm. It costs £12.50 for adults and children who are over 90cm, children under 90cm go free. If you live locally and want to visit often, there is a season ticket available for £49.99 which allows access to all three parks, plus the undercover water park at Warrington and the farm park at Milton Keynes. I thought the entry costs were reasonable - after all, it cost less for the three of us to go to Gulliver's World than for one of us to go to Legoland!

* Rides and Attractions *Like many theme parks, the park is divided into several zones - these are called Lilliput Land, Smugglers Wharf, Circus World, Western World, Alice's Wonderland, Adventure World, Water World and The Lost World. Each have their own themes and attractions. For us, as parents of toddlers, the best thing about the park was that there were very few rides that the two and three year olds couldn't go on - both of them are fearless and prepared to give any ride a try, so it was nice to not have to say 'no, you're too little' all the time. There were a few roller-coasters which were designed for older, taller riders but most rides were suitable for anyone over 90cm, as long as they were accompanied by an adult. The rides which our little ones enjoyed most were the Pirate Ship, the Tree Tops Swing, the Runaway Train Coaster and the Pony Express. Unfortunately, due to the park being really busy and the long queuing times, we didn't get to go on nearly as many rides as they would have liked - queues of 45 minutes plus with energetic toddlers are just not going to happen. For really small children (like my friends' one year old), there was a limited selection of rides such as a carousel, some planes and other fairground type rides. The other highlight for our toddlers was the presence of Dora and Diego - there was a challenge to complete where you collected stamps in various locations, met the 'stars' and then received a small present (a key-ring) for completing the challenge.

* Eating and Drinking *I don't go to theme parks with high expectations of quality food, but I will admit to being fairly disappointed with the food on offer at Gulliver's World. We initially tried to buy pizza as it is always a popular choice with our young children, but were told it was a one hour wait as only one out of four pizza ovens were working. Personally, on a sunny August Saturday when the park was very full, I don't think this was good enough. Food in the restaurant which advertised itself as providing a 'healthy' alternative just didn't look appetising and we ended up getting fish and chips. These were fine (ok, the fish was clearly frozen but it tasted ok) but it took over 25 minutes to get served at the counter, despite there only being four people in front of us in the queue. On the plus side, they weren't as expensive as I thought they would be. We also had freshly cooked hot doughnuts which were delicious. Overall, I would highly recommend taking your own food as there were plenty of places to sit and have a picnic.

* Overall Thoughts *We all enjoyed our day out, especially the children, but I don't think it is a place that I would rush to go back to. I didn't feel that it was as professionally run as other theme parks that we've visited recently - you would have thought that on a sunny August Saturday they would have been able to anticipate it being very busy and I don't think they coped as well with the volume of visitors as they perhaps should have done. We arrived at 10.30 and by the time we'd purchased tickets and got into the park it was about 11.00. Some of the rides had still not started up for the day, which I don't think is great considering the relatively short opening hours - we had wanted to go on the log flume, but it wasn't open, and by the time we got back to it later the queue was far too long. Later in the day, when the queues were really long for the bigger rides, I think they could have been more efficient in filling up the carriages which might have made the queues move a bit faster. I felt that by the time we gave up and went home at 3.30 the queues were just too long and it wasn't toddler-friendly anymore - patience is not a strong point in 2 and 3 year old children so we just couldn't go on anything else. There were also several food and drink kiosks which remained closed all day when you would have expected everything to be open, and they seemed to run out of stock very quickly. On the positive side, it is a great place to take young children, especially if they haven't been to a theme park before. There is a good variety of rides, nothing too scary and a nice, family atmosphere. If you went on a day where it wasn't so busy, then it would probably be a great family day out.

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It "could" be made a great place - but it isn't

THE SOONER THIS PLACE IS SHUTDOWN THE SAFER IT WILL BE FOR CHILDREN. The timbers are rotten in many areas including one on the seating benches near to the entrance (which incidentally are not bolted down to the floor, so heavy people sitting on the edge tip the bench's when other get off). The rides are under staffed, so that long delays occur which upsets the children. The toilets smell of urine, which isn't a one off - its clear there are cut backs in sanitation, which is inexcusable. Staff fobbed us of when we told them. Not even the single soap dispenser had any soap in it; the urinals did not seemed to have been auto flushed for a very long time. No warning that the water may scald you when you wash! The food areas were, as others have posted comments - very poor. The rain gutters have 18" wild flowers growing in them (these don't just pop up overnight!) which evidence my point - its not maintained. MY BIGGEST ISSUE IS PARK GUESTS WERE ALLOWED TO SMOKE, IF I WAS RUNNING THE PARK I WOULD MAKE IT ZERO SMOKING POLICY FOR THE SAKE OF CHILDRENS HEALTH IN PASSIVE SMOKING. You would queue up for a ride only to be told that your child wasn't quite tall enough. A simple painted marker as you approach the ride so you can measure your Childs height would cost next to nothing to implement. There are occasional markers for height but these are only visible once you get towards the front of a queue - pointless! There was an aeroplane ride, which went round - no music - total silence. What would it cost to play some music as they went round? I feel the children have been duped, put at risk with biohazards, passive smoking, rotten timbers, and poor hygiene at food areas. Please I beg of you don't go there otherwise YOU WILL regret. If anyone feels the same, please write to the local authorises so that some action can be taken to force improvements. I feel like demanding my money (£48) back and using it to employ a couple of contract cleaners for an hour to clean the toilets.

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Lovely family day out

Gulliver's World is a children's theme park based in Warrington, Cheshire. There are also other locations around the UK - Matlock Bath and Milton Keynes. It is aimed at younger children (the website says it caters for children between the age of two and thirteen), and the rides are pretty tame compared to theme parks such as Alton Towers. My husband and I have taken our children there many times, and they still enjoy it as teenagers.

We come from Liverpool so it doesn't take too long to get there. It is clearly sign posted and we have never had any trouble finding it. They have a very large car park, and it is easy to find a space. Gulliver's opens at 10:30am and closes at 5pm, although these times do depend on the time of year and any special events that may be going on (eg. Halloween and Bonfire Night). The current prices are £12.50 for both adults and children, OAPs are £11.50 and children under 90cm are free. They also have discounts for groups of twenty or more. There are several stations to get your tickets from, so we've never had to wait to long.

Once inside there are several different areas (such as Circus World, Smuggler's Wharf and Water World) have themed rides for those areas. There are many rides to suit different ages; I will go over a few below:

- The Antelope Biggest ride at the park - the classic wooden rollercoaster. Gets very busy so I would suggest going on it first if you arrive early, when the queues are smallest.

- Barrel RideLike the spinning cups except they don't spin, if you get what I mean. They go round in a circle but you can't turn the barrels round individually. My kids were disappointed with this one.

- The JokerThere are five seats in a row on each of the two sides, and the ride goes up and down. Like a smaller version of the ones you see at the big theme parks.

- Wild Mine RideA very fast and jerky rollercoaster (my daughter complained the jerks gave her a headache). This ride has a camera on it, which takes your photo as you hurdle down a slope. Great fun to go and check out the picture after the ride (you don't have to pay to see it).

- Sky Tours Observation TowerNot a ride as such, so suitable for non-adrenaline fans. You go into a circular pod which goes slowly upwards, giving you a view of the park.

To conclude, a really nice little theme park. There's also a gift shop on the way out, which is fairly cheap and stocks the usual souvenir items (rubbers, pens, sweets, t-shirts, ect). I would recommend Gulliver's World to any family looking for a day out.